Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet

The first time I took a public cooking class at The Natural Gourmet Institute (NGI) it was a Friday night.  The lobby was packed.  It turns out that in addition to cooking classes, they hold a Friday Night Dinner.

Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet has become a culinary magnet for savvy
New Yorkers and visitors alike. Savor a delicious and unique experience when Chef
Instructors and students of our Chef’s Training Program pour their expertise and
enthusiasm into a three-course vegetarian dinner that is both innovative and beautifully
presented.

I added coming back for a dinner to my mental “to do” list.  Shortly after the earthquake in Japan I saw an event on NGI’s Facebook page — a special Friday Night Dinner, a benefit for relief efforts in Japan. I immediately made a reservation for two.

On May 6 my husband and I met Andrea for a drink at Markt before meeting up with some of her friends at NGI.  The place was packed (a gluten-free menu for the Friday Night Dinner guests downstairs and a gluten-free cooking class upstairs — organized chaos!).   We were seated at a communal table for 10–seven of us and three others.

We perused the menu

and cracked open a bottle of Hahn Pinot Noir (the dinners are BYOB).

The starter arrived

Beets & Potatoes, Broccoli Rabe and Cabbage & Grapefruit

The broccoli rabe, with mustard, was my hands down favorite.  The beets and potato dish came in at a close second.  The grapefruit and cabbage terrine just didn’t quite do it for me.  In retrospect, I think it would have made for a lovely amuse-bouche–interesting flavors best enjoyed alone.  I did eat everything on my plate (and finished off Dave’s potatoes) and then the entree arrived.

Kale-Avocado Salad, Quinoa, Green Pea Falafel and Tofu

I’m cuckoo for kale and that salad was positively delicious.  Fresh, simple ingredients made for some good eats! The tofu, however, just didn’t do it for me.  It was cold and, honestly, lacked flavor.  Someone at our table, I think Jess, said “if this is someone’s first experience with tofu, they won’t be sold.”  Or something like that. You get the point.

All was forgiven though, when I dove into the quinoa and green pea falafel,

both of which were extremely good!  The bamboo shoots in the quinoa provided a wonderful texture.

The third course was dessert.

Ice Cream, Tuile and Cake

Honestly, nothing makes me happier after eating a delicious vegan meal than being dazzled by delicious vegan dessert.  Believe it or not (don’t let my love of the vegan marshmallow sandwich fool you) I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. So when I taste a dessert or sweet treat that I rave about–it’s that good.  The ice cream was made with a green tea and was utterly perfect–creamy and not overly sweet.  The raspberry tuile was delicious too.

But the cake.

Oh, this cake.  It was delightful beyond imagine.

Chef Hideyo Yamada, and the massive number of NGI culinary students who prepared our meal, came out for a post-dinner Q&A. We were in awe of the simplicity of so many of the recipes. Often just a few, but very creative, ingredients were used in some of my favorite dishes.

There’s nothing better than enjoying a beautifully prepared vegan meal prepared by someone else.  But it’s inspiring to meet the chef and her culinary team, and hear them describe the dishes.  Because I left thinking “I could actually make that.”

I will definitely return to NGI for a Friday Night Dinner.

9 thoughts on “Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet”

  1. this looks fabulous! i am looking forward to taking classes there this summer!! 😀

  2. Your dinner looks fantastic!  Wish I could both eat there AND take a cooking class there.

  3. Is the Friday night dinner always vegan?  I’d heard that there’s always a vegan option, but that it’s vegetarian by default.  This looks amazing.

    1. Good question. I had presumed the opposite–based on nothing! I just checked their website and while all menus looked vegan, only one indicated it was completely dairy, soy and gluten-free. Probably worth a phone call.

      1. Realizing this was posted 2 years ago, I thought I would chime in and confirm… All FND’s are vegan by default, some will have an optional dairy component. Hope this is helpful!

  4. What a wonderful dinner, think I’d love the broccoli appetizer too. Grapefruit has never done much for me in a dish. Too bad on the tofu. Wow on the quinoa and falafel! I’m drooling over the cake! Sounds like a great evening, thanks for the recap.

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